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NOVI (WWJ) – Drive is part action movie, part love story, and part gangsta flick. Yes; it’s all that rolled into one.

The star of this show is Ryan Gosling, who portrays Driver, a part-time Hollywood stunt driver by day, who moonlights as a wheelman for hire by night.

Early on – while watching Driver in action – I couldn’t help but think of action star Jason Statham in his role as Frank Martin, “The Transporter.” One of Statham’s characteristics (as Frank) was not to make small talk and stick to the plan. And, timing was everything. Miss your window of opportunity by even a millimeter of a second, and you would be left behind.

Watching Gosling’s Driver as he kept an eye on the clock during a hold-up was similar to watching The Transporter when Frank waited in the getaway car during a heist. While keeping his eye on the clock – in one particular scene – Driver also kept a close eye on the door of a building two thieves were using as their escape route following a robbery. After one ran out of the building, the thief’s accomplice jumped into the getaway car, waiting nervously as the clock ticked away, for his partner in crime to emerge. Driver, however, kept his cool.

Throughout Drive, Driver is one cool dude. Nothing seems to shake him. His one and only allegiance, it seems, is to his agent Shannon (Bryan Cranston), who secures both daytime and nighttime employment for Driver. Things start to change for Driver, though, when he shares the elevator with his new neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan). After another chance encounter with Irene and her son, Benicio (Kaden Leos), he begins spending more and more time with them.

Drive really kicks into high gear when Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Isaac), an ex-convict, returns home from prison and Driver offers to help Standard get out of debt for the “protection money” he collected while behind bars. And, with that, let the excitement begin!